Sealed Within
by Daeneyr
Summary: Naruto struggles to find out whether he is more fox or human. Naruto Shippuuden but takes place at the end of the first season, right after Gaara's rescue. Does not follow the storyline after that.
1. Escape

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first fanfiction in a while and I don't know if Naruto fanfics are even still a thing but yeah, I'm a new Naruto fan and thought I'd express how I think Naruto feels sometimes through the use of this Fanfic. Like any author, I would really like comments, for example things I'm doing horribly wrong, or things I'm doing right etc. Or maybe just a little bit of encouragement to get me through the fic! Anything at all will be appreciated. Enjoy my fanfic (At least, I hope you enjoy it :). Thanks!

~Daeneyr

* * *

It was a clear night with very few places to hide, due to the brightness of the full moon that lit up the terrain around the two criminals. One of said criminals was carrying a large sack, and the other a sword covered in bandages. A group of ninja's were fast on their tails as they desperately drove themselves towards the approaching forest that marked the border of the land of fire. The man with the sword threw some kunai at the pursuers before looking at his comrade.

"Are you sure this will drive the boy out of hiding? Provoking Orochimaru like this isn't going to turn out well in any case, are you sure it's worth it?" he hissed, his shark-like eyes flicking behind him to ensure the pursuers were too far to use any jutsu on he and his comrade.

"Getting cold feet, my friend?" The other smiled darkly.

"No it's not that…" the first ninja replied,"It's just, are you sure that kidnapping Sasuke Uchiha will provoke the 9 tailed one? It seems to me that most jinchuriki tend to only care for themselves. "

"That may be true for most of them, but not this time." The eyes of the second ninja suddenly turned bright red, dotted in three places with what looked like waterdrops dripping around the pupil, "Normally, I wouldn't risk incurring the wrath of Orochimaru, but once I possess the power of the 9 tails, even Orochimaru's power will not be enough to defeat me. I know the 9 tailed fox's jinchuriki will rise to this bait over any other. It is with this certainty that I make such risks to achieve my goal."

The red eyed ninja looked behind himself at the quickly approaching ninja, dodged a kunai, and continued forward.

"I know that this will work, because Naruto Uzamaki will stop at nothing to keep his promise…"


	2. The Fire Within

Sakura was running as fast as she could, her forehead covered in sweat and blood.

"Please!" She cried out to her pursuer, "Please stop! You don't have to keep your promise! Not if it means this!"

Her pursuer never slowed or showed any sign of having heard her voice. Instead he continued to relentlessly pursue her like the hell hound he had become. This was no longer Naruto. This was the 9 tailed fox.

Behind the glowing white eyes of the beast was Naruto, her friend, unable to control the beast that he was being consumed by.

* * *

"MMmmmmmhmmmm...stop...stop...eh?"

Naruto sat up straight in his bed, his heart racing, body stiff and on high alert. He looked out his window at the blue sky and birds fluttering in the breeze. It was a beautiful day in the hidden leaf village, but Naruto didn't care. Flashes of his nightmare were still present in his consciousness and when he looked at his hands he could almost still see the blood that had been on them in the dark night of his dream.

He put his hands down on his blanket and sighed. It had only been a dream, fortunately. Only a dream.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Naruto sat up straight, the sound having shocked him into high alert. He stood up and stumbled over to the door, his spiky blonde hair even more ruffled than usual and his eyes half closed in exhaustion. Opening the door he was surprised to run into none other than Shikamaru, who was leaning against Naruto's doorway.

"Hey Shikamaru. What brings you here?" Naruto answered the door, still wearing his sleep cap.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the dark rings underneath Naruto's eyes, then shrugged and put his hands behind his head.

"You don't look so great. Hey, you gonna let me in?"

"Oh uh…." Naruto and Shikamaru look past the doorway and into the abyss of ramen, dirty bowls, and bags of chips that was Naruto's den. Shikamaru sighed,

"Never mind. The Hokage wants to see you, Naruto."

"Grandma Tsunade wants to see me?!" Naruto gasped, "What for?"

Shikamaru shrugged,

"Don't ask me, I'm just the messenger. It's a drag really, but I can't tell you anything." With that, Shikamaru begins to walk off.

"Wait Shikamaru!" Naruto called out. Shikamaru waved back before disappearing down the street.

"_Mmmm I hope she is going to yell at me for the last mission we went on. That cat was faster and fiercer than it seemed!_" Naruto sighed, and turned back into his house. Looking at the mess he actually considered cleaning up, but decided not to. No need to risk the wrath of Grandma Tsunade. It seemed he was never home enough to clean up, but that didn't mean he didn't want to go on missions. In fact, he would rather almost never be home at all, not until he lived in the house of the Hokage. But still, his house really was a mess, and he wasn't much better.

"_You are a beast, may as well live like one..." _The husky voice inside his mind growled.

"_I'm not! I'm not like you!" _Naruto argued, but to no avail. The fox chuckled menacingly. No matter how hard Naruto fought, the words would get to him, and it wasn't just when he was conscious either. Every day he had more and more trouble sleeping. He had begun to develop dark rings under his eyes, like Gaara's. Everytime he used that pesky fox's chakra, it drew more and more out of him and Naruto was beginning to feel the effects.

Naruto yawned once more and picked up a pair of pants and a shirt that didn't smell too bad. After putting them on, he looked at himself in his full length mirror, his hand on his belly over the seal mark. Why was he the one who had to spend every day fighting against this animalistic nature that pushed at his conscience? The 9 tailed fox...he didn't ask for it. Although it did help sometimes, Naruto felt like he was a little less than human. How can he consider himself fully human, when he was not treated as such? For most of his life, he was seen as being the 9 tailed fox. Still to this day there are some that still treat him as some wild beast, ready to turn and attack at any moment, and sometimes he believed them. Especially as of late, he had been feeling more and more angry, sometimes going so far as to think about what it would be like if he could just show them, show them how much of an animal he could be, how wrong they were to think of him as being synonymous with the blasted fox that was imprisoned inside his body, because if he was to let loose, he could show them what the fox could do that Naruto had never done, so he could prove that he was not the demon that was so hated, he was Naruto Uzamaki, ninja of the Leaf….

Naruto punched the glass in front of him, tears in his eyes. The glass cracked and inside the cracks Naruto could see his eyes returning from the fox's slits to his bright blue eyes. The fox got stronger everyday, while he got weaker and weaker...


	3. A Cautious Mission

"A transport mission?!" Naruto burst out.

_"Look...even your own hokage doesn't trust you. That's why she send us on these stupid missions that are obviously beneath us. "_

_"Shut up, stupid fox."_

_"Don't try to deny it. Why else would it always be such simple missions we are assigned to? Babysitting, dog walking, escort missions. Always the same."_

_"Hmmmm..." _

Tsunade looked Naruto up and down. The little boy who used to stand in front of her had grown up quite a bit. He was taller and more mature, but he was still the same old Naruto when it came to complaining. Yet...something was wrong. He seemed angrier than usual. Whereas his complaining about missions had become the norm, typically it was almost a jest the two shared with each other. No matter the mission, Naruto always wanted harder and harder chores to prove his worth, and it became a back and forth challenge between the two, with Naruto trying to use tricks to get Tsunade to give him the missions he wanted and with Tsunade playing with Naruto to try and see what tricks he would use. It was something that Naruto had in common with her little brother, and she humoured him because of it. But the way he was acting now was no joke. He was truly angry, over this...petty assignment? It was unlike Naruto to take things like this so seriously. Something was most definately up. Tsunade furrowed her brow in thought.

"Yes, Naruto, a transport mission. You will be helping a merchant caravan travel from the land of rice paddies to the land of fire. Not a very hard mission, and not a very long mission. You should finish it quickly and then, maybe, I'll give you something harder."

"That's doesn't count for much, considering that this barely counts as a C rank mission. Should be D rank anyway," Naruto growled and looked away. Kakashi sighed and buried his face in his hand,

'_He should be glad we are even getting a mission, considering how big of a mess we made with the last one. This kid really doesn't know when to shut up_.'

Sakura punched Naruto on top of his head and hissed,

"Shut it, idiot!"

"Ow!" Naruto massage his head and looked put out, but didn't complain anymore after that point.

'_Atta girl_,' smiled Kakashi.

"We accept the mission, Milady!" Sakura replied cheerfully.

"Good." Tsunade commented, "At least with you and Kakashi on the team I know that Naruto can't screw this one up." Kakashi and Sakura laughed, and Naruto sulked his way out of the room.

"I'll show you!" he called out, "Just you wait!"

_'A transport mission. What a waste of my time. How can I learn to tame this fox if I'm never able to let it out? __Dammit…Typical Grandma Tsunade. Always underestimates my abilities. Doesn't she realize how powerful I am? I can crush her in an instant if I so chose ...no _that's the fox talking. I wouldn't, COULDN'T, do anything like that. Not to anyone who wasn't an enemy."

"_Your whole squad thinks you're weak. That's why they don't complain about the easy assignments. They think that's all you can handle."_

"_No that's not true. They accept because they just take what they are given."_

"_And you don't. You're like Sasuke, looking for more power, always looking to come out on top. If only you were strong enough then you could have brought him back you know. I can give you the power to bring him back, boy. All you have to do is acknowledge that you and I are one and the same."_

_"We are NOT the same, fox."_

_"A pity..."_

Naruto shook his head and walked away from the door towards his home so that he could begin to prepare. The others waited until Naruto was out of earshot.

"Take care of him, you two." Tsunade warned, "I'm counting on you."

"You got it." Kakashi replied.

"Yeah." Sakura echoed.

"Just remember that the Naruto may not seem like it, but he has been having issues keeping the 9 tailed fox at bay during times of extreme emotion. Anger seems to be his trigger, allowing the beast to take over his body, damaging not only his body and mind, but also the people around him. When he turns, he doesn't recognize even his closest friends. He becomes nothing but the puppet of the 9 tailed fox. Also, did you notice the dark rings under his eyes?"

Kakashi nodded, but Sakura hadn't really noticed. She had been too busy punching him on the head.

"Like Gaaras." Kakashi speculated.

"Exactly like Gaara's. That's something that Jinchuriki get when their inner demon begins to break loose. Naruto's demon has been sealed, and so he never had to suffer the way Gaara did at the hands of the beast. But now, it appears that the seal may have been loosened, and the 9 tailed fox is using this opportunity. Everytime Naruto sleeps, the fox gains more and more power by manipulating his dreams. That is why he has those rings under his eyes. He is an insomniac. I'm sure that the more he uses the fox's chakra, the more that the fox can cling to Naruto's conscience and the looser the seal. This is why we are sending you out on such an easy mission, to give him more time to better develop his control on the beast inside of him. I suspect that he is having issues dealing with the fox not only during battles and sleep, but during his everyday life. Try to keep him out of anything intense, alright? Also, the Akatski are still after Naruto as well. While I do not believe they will attack this soon after we killed the two who kidnapped Lord Kasikage of the Sand we cannot rule them out completely. Keep an eye out for trouble at all times, both from the outside and from Naruto as well."

"Understood," Kakashi replied solemnly. Sakura bit her lip and nodded in agreement.

_"Oh Naruto, I can't believe it. I promise I won't lose you to a monster like I lost Sasuke. If those Akatski come near you, or if that fox tries to come out, I will personally knock them into the next century! Cha!"_


	4. Kekei Genkai

Naruto was running along the merchant caravan when he saw it: A cloud of smoke from the direction they had come. It didn't look like Kakashi or Sakura had seen it, probably because Naruto was at a higher elevation than either, running along the side of the cliff face rather than on the ground. Naruto, being naturally curious, wanted to go see what it was about.

'_If I ask Kakashi sensei he will probably say no. I know it's not our mission, but what if someone needs help? I gotta go check it out…"_

"Hey Kakashi, there's something I have to do." Naruto called out. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Um…." Naruto looked meaningfully towards Sakura, as if he didn't quite want to say anything in her presence.

"EW Naruto! You don't have to tell the whole party everytime you need to take a leak! Just go!" Sakura yelled out. Naruto blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Right, sorry..'

He laughed softly and disappeared off into the woods. Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

_'Hmmmm…..'_

* * *

From underneath the foliage, Naruto could clearly see the battle that was occurring in the clearing in front of him. It appeared that it was a battle of 6 against two, and yet it was evenly matched nonetheless. The two ninja fighting side by side were none other than Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigake of the Akatski. Five of the others were hidden sound ninja that Naruto didn't know. And the last one….was Sasuke Uchiha.

_'Sasuke'_

_"SASUKE!" _Naruto yelled out, springing from the bushes and running towards the fray. Sasuke looked surprised for a second then narrowed his eyes.

"What are you doing here! Are you involved with these men? If so, I will have to kill you this time." Sasuke deflected an attack by Kisame and fell back.

"No, I don't know anything about this…."

"Good, then stay out of it. This is between me and Itachi. I don't want you here." Naruto growled,

"Well I don't want you here either! I want you to be with me and Sakura, back at the leaf!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm and tried to pull him back, but Sasuke pushed him away.

"I'm not coming back, Naruto. Not ever." Naruto was shocked at the venom in Sasuke's words, and Sasuke slipped out of his grasp. He ran at Itachi and kept up fighting without a second glance at the person who used to be his best friend.

A body fell in front of Naruto. It was one of the sound Ninja's. It was covered in blood and gore from the paperbomb that had been his demise. The face had been burned away, leaving nothing but bloody flesh and bone. Naruto wanted to look away, but something kept his gaze transfixed on the body. Pleasure stirred itself deep inside Naruto's mind.

_"Yessss...You like that, don't you? The blood of battle. It makes our mouth water with hunger. Destruction and Death, that is the sustenance that keeps us sane."_

"_You're wrong."_

"_Don't bother to deny it. You know yourself...always fighting with your precious Hokage to get harder and harder missions. You do realize where those missions come from? The harder the mission, the more dangerous the mission, the more others suffer. You want suffering because otherwise there would be no need of ninja, and then where would you be? A messenger boy or server at that ramen shop you hold so dear. No that's not the life you want. you want action. You want excitement. You want blood, to see blood, to cause it, to hurt those who hurt you. I know it to be true. Remember, I am you."_

Naruto looked up with tears in his eyes, just in time to see Itachi throw Sasuke on the ground, where he hit his head and lay unmoving, apparently unconscious. Naruto ran towards Sasuke to see if he was alright, but he didn't quite make it before he was attacked by a shadow clone of Itachi. The clone grabbed Naruto and held him still, unable to fight back. Itachi smiled,

"Here I thought that my attempt to lure you out with Sasuke had failed. Who would've thought that you'd be way out here? Easy pickings. You're just as weak as my little brother here. Not enough hate to make you truly strong."

"I'll show you easy pickings!" Naruto growled, ears sprouting through his head. His eyes were slitted like that of the 9 tailed fox. Naruto let all of his hate inside of him out in the form of the 9 tailed foxes chakra cloak. Even so, he was too late. He had looked Itachi in the eyes. The world melted around him and he found himself in a world full of black and red. Itachi was smiling at him.

"That's more like it. Allow the hate to consume you, and maybe one day you will be stronger than I, my foxy friend."

Naruto was surrounded by snakes, all of them bearing the faces of his friends and teachers one of them wrapped itself completely around Naruto and began to squeeze him to the brink of death, but Itachi would not allow him to die, nor would he allow him to lose conscience either.

"I'm not coming back, Naruto. Not ever." A thousand Sasuke snakes hissed as the bit him, injected burning venom into his blood stream. The pain was so great, he screamed and writhed but to no avail.

"Why are you so stupid, Naruto?" A Sakura headed snake asked."Always thinking you're all that, but never coming through on your promises. You're such a liar." She too bit Naruto, but this venom didn't burn, it froze in his veins and shards of ice poked through his body, the largest being the one that came out of his heart. From that Ice shard, a snake that had Iruka's face emerged.

"I hate you, Naruto. I only pretend to like you, because it's part of my job to be there for my students. But I hate every minute of it, because I know it is you who killed my parents. You filthy fox demon." With that, Iruka-snake bit Naruto on the forehead, and oil leaked out of Naruto's eyes, covering his entire body. Then Iruka snake blew flames onto the oil, setting Naruto on fire.

"_Kill…..you know you want to kill them all…." _ A voice from inside Naruto said. Naruto was screaming so loudly from the pain that he couldn't even argue. "_WE are the fox demon with the 9 tails. We can kill them, all of your comrades that you love so much but that do not love you in return. We can kill all of them, you know.."_

"N...no.." Naruto managed to gasp, and then the flames stopped. The pain was gone and Sakura was standing over him.

"Sa..Sakura?" He managed to gasp.

"Naruto, we're here" She cooned.

"We?" Naruto wondered. Sakura moved aside, and standing there was ever single person that Naruto knew and cared for. Even Sasuke was there, with that smart ass grin that was the closest he came to smiling.

"We all came to rescue you. You were in that Gen Jutsu for three days…"

_"Thanksssss for your concern, but I think you had better worry more about yourself..."_ a deep growl came out of Naruto's own mouth. Sakura stepped back, confused and fearful.

"Naruto...what are you saying?"

_"We are going to kill you, yes... today... is the day...YOU DIE!" _Naruto leapt at Sakura and tore her to shreds, his hands cloaked in her blood and in the fire chakra of the 9 tailed fox. Each of his friends fell beneath his claws, and Naruto began to drown in the salty blood of his own comrades…Naruto started choking on the sticky liquid on the ground when he bent down to tear off Rock Lee's face.

"Naruto, Please! I do not want to have to kill you!" His screams were the last that Naruto heard, because he was the only victim that had been left.

"_Very good, Naruto_. _We are one, you and I, and we are the only ones that the other hassss now that these distractions have been taken care of._"

"N..No…" Naruto cried, as he realized what he had done. The entire leaf village had been decimated, and everyone was dead...and it had been at the hands of Naruto, the 9 tailed fox demon. Naruto fell to his knees and cried, the pain of what he had done was worse than that of the flames or the venom of before. Suddenly he heard footsteps. Naruto looked up and saw the fourth Hokage standing in front of him.

"Look at you, demon. I sealed you away in a boy, thinking that it would weaken you and protect this village. And now it has done nothing but destroyed the very village I aimed to protect. This time, I will kill you." The fourth Hokage raised his sword and stabbed downwards, impaling Naruto with his sword over and over again, each time more painful than the one before. This he continued for what seemed to Naruto like a day, but to everyone else was merely a second.


End file.
